[House Report 107-562]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 107-562
======================================================================
SUSQUEHANNA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE EXPANSION ACT
_______
July 10, 2002.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hansen, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 4807]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 4807) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
acquire the property in Cecil County, Maryland, known as
Garrett Island for inclusion in the Susquehanna National
Wildlife Refuge, having considered the same, report favorably
thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 4807 is to authorize the Secretary of
the Interior to acquire the property in Cecil County, Maryland,
known as Garrett Island for inclusion in the Susquehanna
National Wildlife Refuge.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
On June 23, 1942, President Roosevelt issued Executive
Order 9185 establishing the Susquehanna National Wildlife
Refuge in Cecil County, Maryland. This area, which was closed
to hunting, contained thousands of acres of submerged aquatic
vegetation providing superb habitat for a large population of
diving ducks.
In 1978, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service opened the
closed area to hunting because the aquatic vegetation had
largely disappeared and waterfowl use had declined to the point
where federal protection was no longer necessary. As a result,
the size of the refuge was reduced to the four acres of Battery
Island which had been the site of a U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse
since the 1920's. The Susquehanna Refuge has been further
reduced by erosion and it is managed as a non-staffed satellite
of the larger Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.
Garrett Island is located at the mouth of the Susquehanna
River and it is the only rocky island in the tidal waters of
the Chesapeake Bay. It is a link between the river and the bay.
The island is about a mile and a half wide, is comprised of
approximately 198 acres, and rises to 115 feet above sea level.
The island is currently owned by a group of private land
conservators who donated 15 percent of the island to the Cecil
Land Trust. It is estimated that the cost to the federal
government of purchasing the remaining acreage would be
$300,000.
Garrett Island has been occupied by humans for generations.
It was the site of Maryland's second settlement in the early
1600's. In the mid-1800's, the B&O railroad purchased the
island as a base for a bridge they built across the Susquehanna
River and named it after its Chairman of the Board, John W.
Garrett. Today, the island has no permanent residents and there
is limited public use including bird watching, fishing and
picnicking. The island has a variety of archeological, natural
and wildlife resources. It provides high-quality habitat for 44
different avian populations and dozens of fish species,
including 14 kinds of ducks, eagles, Canadian geese, common
loons and tundra swans.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 4808 was introduced on May 22, 2002, by Congressman
Wayne T. Gilchrest (R-MD), and was referred to the Committee on
Resources. On June 3, 2002, the bill was referred within the
Committee to the Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation,
Wildlife and Oceans. On June 12, 2002, the Subcommittee held a
hearing on the bill. On June 20, 2002, the Subcommittee met to
mark up the bill. There were no amendments and the bill was
then forwarded to the FullCommittee by unanimous consent. On
June 26, 2002, the full Resources Committee met to consider the
measure. There were no amendments to the bill. The legislation was then
ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous
consent.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution and Article IV,
section 3 of the United States grant Congress the authority to
enact this bill.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures. According to the Congressional
Budget Office, enactment of this legislation could result in
the expenditure of $800,000 for land acquisition and annual
administrative costs thereafter of less than $200,000, subject
to appropriations.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. The purpose of
this bill is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
acquire the property in Cecil County, Maryland, known as
Garrett Island for inclusion in the Susquehanna National
Wildlife Refuge.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, July 3, 2002.
Hon. James V. Hansen,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4807, the
Susquehanna National Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan
Carroll.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 4807--Susquehanna National Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act
H.R. 4807 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
acquire Garrett Island, a 198-acre island located at the mouth
of the Susquehanna River in Cecil County, Maryland. The bill
would direct the Secretary to manage the acquired lands as a
unit of the Susquehanna National Wildlife Refuge.
Assuming the availability of appropriated funds, and based
on information from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, CBO
estimates that the agency would spend up to $800,000 to acquire
the island in 2003. We also estimate that the agency would
spend less than $200,000 annually to manage the island and to
make payments to Cecil County under the Refuge Revenue Sharing
Act, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts.
H.R. 4807 would not affect direct spending or receipts;
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. H.R. 4807
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would have no
significant impact on the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll.
This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.